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Nintendo Dismisses DS Redesign Rumours

Posted by Zonk on from the untrue dept.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that despite rumours to the contrary there are no immediate plans to redesign the Nintendo DS. From the article: "Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed late last year that a redesign was in the pipeline, and it's thought that there are low levels of DS stock remaining - the handheld has proved a huge hit in Japan, the US and Europe and more than 13 million units have been sold worldwide." IE: There will be a redesign for the handheld console, but not any time real soon.

15 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. I was hoping there would be one by rednalb · · Score: 2, Informative

    I was hoping there would be a redesign. The buttons on the DS are pretty uncomfortable to use. I'm still using the original Gameboy Advance to play GBA games on. The only games that I like on the DS are ones that don't need the buttons, like Trauma Center.

  2. Well... by trogdor8667 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The DS could definately benefit from a redesign: it needs more than just the traditional directional pad, and could be much easier to hold. The current design causes my hand to hurt after a short amount of time.

    I'm honestly disappointed that Nintendo isn't considering this, as it could definately provide some marked improvement in the length of play per game session (I normally only play for fiteen minutes. If the design were better, I could play for 30 minutes at a time, for example).

    1. Re:Well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They _are_ considering a redesign, and have been since the DS has been released. My guess is that the redesigned model will be announced/released in March, right around the time Tetris DS hits the streets. It will conincide the one year anniversary of the PSP launch, when Sony will release their "sold" units (ie shipped to retailers) figures. Nintendo will take a double-barrel approach by using Tetris and the redesigned DS to counter the hype Sony will try to generate for the PSP.

    2. Re:Well... by The-Trav-Man · · Score: 2, Funny

      And tail fins.

  3. Milkin' it for what it's worth by binaryspiral · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Big N has sold 13 million DS's... and until sales start to slow down, they won't bother.

    I can play it fine, but my daughter's hands are 1/2 the size and can't hit all the buttons without really giving it a stretch.

    She's not playing with the DS anymore... so it travels with me! :)

  4. A shame by BenjyD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The DS design could use some tweaking. Make it lighter and thinner, round the edges off, make it less wide so it's easier to use the screen with your thumb without stretching, make the shoulder buttons larger and label the buttons properly.

    1. Re:A shame by Endymion · · Score: 3, Interesting

      ...and a place to store a couple games, please!

      The games for the DS are so incredibly tiny, it would have been easy to make a slot somewhere on it to hold 2-3 extra DS games, kindof like the stylus holder. I'd love to be able to bring just the DS and have the current 2-3 games I'm playing be avaliable.

      I've tried to bring them seperatly, but they get lost easily. Right now I have a box for them, but it's bulky.

      This has never been possible before, as the games were too big. I believe we finally hit a point, though, where they are small enough for this.

      --
      Ce n'est pas une signature automatique.
    2. Re:A shame by BenjyD · · Score: 2, Informative

      I have one of those soft DS cases - it stops the DS getting scratched in my bag, and it has a little zip compartment that fits maybe five DS games.

  5. Article Relevance... by kraiger · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anyone else love how the quoted section of the article was more in favor of the redesign, not actually supporting the title of the article?

  6. Bad summary by VickiM · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Reading the article, I understood that Nintendo is saying that they are not announcing a redesign this week.
    Given how they keep redesigning the GameBoy, I think a DS redesign is pretty likely, personally. But Nintendo likes to keep us all guessing, so we probably won't find out 'til they're almost done with it.

  7. GBA2? by mrgreen4242 · · Score: 2, Informative
    So whatever happened to the GBA2? Nintendo always said the the DS WASN'T the new GameBoy and that they were working on one... so where is it? Any rumours even? Perhaps the GBA2 will be the DS redesign? Make a new handheld that is backwards compatible with the DS and GBA?

    As far as design goes, I was somehting that is like a T Mobile Sidekick. The "basic" buttons (d-pad, 4 face and should buttons) on the outside with a screen in the middle. The screen would be a pivoting/rotating/flipping deal so that the touchscreen below it could be exposed for DS play, or covered for other games that don't need it. You could alos rotate it out and then flip it down so the LCDs were facing each other, potecting them from damage. I think it would be a cool design at least.

  8. Yeah, sure... by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    IE: There will be a redesign for the handheld console, but not any time real soon.

    More like: "Even if there was a redesign coming, we would lie and say there wasn't until the last second so that people don't stop buying the current version."

  9. Re:Wireless capabilities by goodenoughnickname · · Score: 2, Informative
    WPA encryption was added to the PSP in Firmware v2.0. Why doesn't Nintendo offer downloadable firmware upgrades? I searched around for an answer, but this is all I found:
    We have no plans for WPA at this time.

    If your concerned about WEP, turn your computers are OFF after you've switch to WEP for the DS. I don't care if The Lone Gunmen are parked outside your door with a van full of equipment trying to bust in your computer files, they can't do it if your computers are off. And, yes, your wireless router will still work if your computer is off. Um, unless it's plugged into the same power strip and you power the whole strip off.

    If that's not an option for you, you may want to get the Nintendo USB WiFi Connector, as it works ONLY with the Nintendo DS, and you can leave your other WiFi router with WPA.

    NOTE: The reason the Nintendo DS is compatible with WEP, and not WPA, is that we found WEP to be the most prevalent standard for securing wi-fi connections.

    "NOA_GREG" in the Nintendo Forums
    And that's dated November 15, 2005. You can read more here. Basically, get a $35 DS Wifi USB key to share the connection, and leave your computer on all the time. Thanks, Nintendo.
  10. Re:Wireless capabilities by FriedTurkey · · Score: 2, Informative

    I got the USB adapter. It was easy to setup and works well. It doesn't leave a hole in the network because only an authorized DS works.

  11. Volume lack of control by fwitness · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, the DS, although I love it, has some very small design flaws.

    My biggest is using the touch screen as an analog pad, it's not possible for me to stretch my thumb comfortably. Luckily, few games use this feature.

    My second biggest is volume control. You're right, it's impossible to get something that you can hear, but is not too loud. Or any tiny change for that matter. The same thing was true of my GBA SP though really. What ever happened to notched-dial wheels? They worked just fine.

    Lastly, is the overall comfort of the device. Sometimes, I'd like to lay on the couch or bed and play, but the damn thing can't be held in any sideways manner (while on your side.) Actually, the *only* way that works is directly in your lap or in front of you, preferably with a pillow or something taking the weight of it.

    --
    -- I have fans? Wow.